Democracy Now! Blog

Tune in Tuesday when we’ll speak with Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal about their new book, "A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran." In the meantime, you can read an excerpt from Bauer about the day they were arrested.

This week’s public spat between CIA-loyalist Sen. Dianne Feinstein and that agency might briefly upset the status quo, but they will make up. Sadly, it obscures a graver problem: the untold story of the United States’ secret policy of torture and rendition (the latter is White House lingo for “kidnapping”).

In Part 2 of our interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Julia Angwin, she explains how she got her children interested in privacy by making it fun. We also speak with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern about the newly revealed "Raw Take" order that weakened privacy restrictions.

Tune in Wednesday when we’ll speak with reporter Julia Angwin as part of a roundtable on whistleblowers, and discuss challenges journalists face in cultivating such sources due to online surveillance by the government and corporations. In the meantime, you can read Chapter 1 of her new book, Dragnet Nation."

Watch our extended interview with activist and scholar Angela Davis about the significance of the Oscar-winning film, "12 Years a Slave," the use of solitary confinement in prisons, and the global movement to challenge the expansion of immigrant detention. [includes rush transcript]

Marshall “Eddie” Conway walked free from prison this week, just one month shy of 44 years behind bars. He was convicted of the April 1970 killing of a Baltimore police officer. Conway has always maintained his innocence.

Local officials confirm the tragic news that longtime black nationalist organizer and attorney Chokwe Lumumba has died of heart failure. He was 66. Watch our interview with Lumumba just after he was elected mayor of Jackson, Mississippi last June, when he said, "we’re about to make some advances and some strides in the development of human rights and the protection of human rights that I think have not been seen in other parts of the country."

In part two of our interview about the new film, "Spies of Mississippi," we continue our look at how the Mississippi state government spied on civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s. [includes rush transcript]

Comcast has announced it intends to merge with Time Warner Cable, joining together the largest and second-largest cable and broadband providers in the country. The merger must be approved by both the Justice Department and the FCC. Given the financial and political power of Comcast, and the Obama administration’s miserable record of protecting the public interest, the time to speak out and organize is now.

Watch an interview with human rights activist Zainab Alkhawaja upon her release from prison by the Bahraini government after nearly a year behind bars. She faced a return to prison pending her appearance in court today, but her sister says the case been postponed until March 3. [includes rush transcript]

Part two of our conversation with transgender activist CeCe McDonald, actress Laverne Cox of "Orange is the New Black," and attorney Alisha Williams of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. [includes rush transcript]

“I found myself standing in front of railroad tracks in South Florida. I was waiting on the train to come so I could jump in front of it and end my life.” So recounted Desmond Meade, describing his life nine years ago. He was homeless, unemployed, recently released from prison and addicted to drugs and alcohol. The train never came. He crossed the tracks and checked himself into a substance-abuse program. He went on to college, and now is just months away from receiving his law degree.

Karim Khan, an anti-drone activist who went missing in Pakistan on Feb. 5, has been released. He says he was interrogated, beaten and tortured but still plans to travel to Europe to meet with parliamentarians.

The Sochi Olympic Games are rightly highlighting the constellation of abuses that have become standard in Russia under Vladimir Putin. Most notably is intense, often violent homophobia, tacitly endorsed by the government with the recent passage of the law against “gay propaganda.” While Sochi shines a light on Russian human-rights violations, it affords an opportunity to expose the rampant corruption and abuse that accompanies the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Freed Pussy Riot members Nadia Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina made their first public appearance in the United States Tuesday after their release from prison in Russia. Amy Goodman was among the journalists who questioned them. [includes rush transcript]

A stunning indictment has been handed down in Cincinnati, focusing attention again on police killings of people of color. This is a start for accountability and justice. Cleveland should pay attention. As the thousand people gathered there last weekend said clearly, “Black Lives Matter.”

Editions

Democracy Now!

Follow

Support Independent News

Democracy Now! is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. We do not accept funding from advertising, underwriting or government agencies. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. Please do your part today.